Transport theorem

A Euclidean vector represents a certain magnitude and direction in space that is independent of the coordinate system in which it is measured. However, when taking a time derivative of such a vector one actually takes the difference between two vectors measured at two different times t and t+dt. In a rotating coordinate system, the coordinate axes can have different directions at these two times, such that even a constant vector can have a non-zero time derivative. As a consequence, the time derivative of a vector measured in a rotating coordinate system can be different from the time derivative of the same vector in a non-rotating reference system. The Transport Theorem (or Transport Equation, Rate of Change Transport Theorem or Basic Kinematic Equation) provides a way to relate time derivatives of vectors between a rotating and non-rotating coordinate system, it is derived and explained in more detail in Rotating_reference_frame and can be written as:

$${\frac {\mathrm {d} }{\mathrm {d} t}}{\boldsymbol {f}}=\left[\left({\frac {\mathrm {d} }{\mathrm {d} t}}\right)_{\mathrm {r} }+{\boldsymbol {\Omega }}\times \right]{\boldsymbol {f}}\ .$$

Here f is the vector of which the time derivative is evaluated in both the non-rotating, and rotating coordinate system. The subscript r designates its time derivative in the rotating coordinate system and the vector Ω is the angular velocity of the rotating coordinate system.

The Transport Theorem is particularly useful for relating velocities and acceleration vectors between rotating and non-rotating coordinate systems.